Good Albums #2

 Wu Tang Clan – A Better Tomorrow

Sounds like : Old skool hardcore hiphop, now with more live instruments
Must listen tracks : Ruckus in a B minor, A Better Tomorrow, Ron O Neal
Recommendation : Listen now while youre reading this blog post. Go listen!

The legendary hip hop collective is back with new materials and once again it served as proof that they really aint nothing to fuck with. After 7 years without a release, Wu Tang Clan gathered again and came back hard with A Better Tomorrow.

Uplifting and fresh, A Better Tomorrow is the reason why i immediately want to write this blog post.

Several reasons why i think this release is solid. First, most of the track was using live instrument kinda like The Roots or Jay Z’s Death Of Autotune. I like this style of hip hop, sounds more organic and give my ear refreshing break in the era of rampant trap style drum machine. The next one is obvious, lyrics and flow. Combination of bad ass self braggadocio in Ruckus in B Minorand critics to the oppression of African American in A Better Tomorrow. Couldnt be more relevant in the lights what happened to Michael Brown and Eric Garner recently.

All in all, Killa Beez is in town to prove once again that they are still number one, still number one one one.

Tove Lo – Queen of Clouds

Sounds like : Electro pop singer-songwriter such as Sia, Florence Welch, Ellie Goulding
Must listen tracks : My Gun, Habit (Stay High)
Recommendation : Perfect when youre having a crush, falling in love and then heartbroken. At the sametime and in that order. 

2014 is the breakout year for swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo. Her catchy single Habit successfully enabled alcoholics all over the world to chugg more as healing recipe for a heartbreak. I found her debut album Queen of Clouds enjoyable. It comes in a three part story of falling in love : The Sex, The Love and The Pain. High energy uplifting pop tracks followed by somewhat cheesy admiration songs with karaoke friendly chorus and concluded with self pity and desperation.

If youre looking for guilt-free pop soundtrack for your love life, this is for you. As a good introduction before you made some serious commitment with this album, i suggest you listen to My Gun.

Porter Robinson – Worlds

Sounds like : Synthpop ala Passion Pit, M83 and Bottlesmoker but with more punch. Shoegaze EDM
Must listen tracks : Lionhearted, Sad Machine , Years of Wars
Recommendation : Dont expect electro house tracks like Language or Easy, listen with open mind. 

While his Poseidon tour-mates production are getting more and more mainstream, Porter Robinson goes the opposite way. Considering his former upbringing as electro house prodigy, Porter’s debut album Worlds is a strange repertoir. For starter, only one track (Lionhearted) in the whole album has the EDM pattern of build up and bass drop. Several part of the album such as Sad Machine and Years of Wars bring the cheerful synthpop feels like M83’s Midnight City. While Sea of Voices, Fellow Feeling and Goodbye To The World serves as back to back gloomy ambient closing to the album. Those three tracks sounds more like a movie score to me.

In several interview, Porter stated that he doesnt want limit himself creating DJ friendly tracks and this album is a manifest to his words. Porter did the same to EDM what Sigur Ros to rock. Welcome to low energy post-EDM times and Worlds is your ticket.

Circa Survive – Descensus

Sounds like : Saosin , Coheeed and Cambria , White Pony-era Deftones. Kick ass alternative rock
Must Listen Tracks : Schema, Child of The Desert, Always Begin, Only The Sun, Descensus. The whole entirety basically
Recommendation : Dark, heavy and headbanging rock album. Must listen. 

I havent listened to Circa Survive before Descensus. I only know that it was ex-Saosin Anthony Green band and Seven Years was fueling my teenage angst back in high school. Coming unprepared, Descensus blew my head over without warning from the first track. The album opened with anger fueled and no holds barred drum pattern whilst Green’s screamed in his distinct falsetto. What comes next was a series of atomic bass lines and by the time the line ” X marks the page, you see” laid down, i was sold. Baptized as Circa Survive fans.

The follow up tracks after Schema are constant drum, bass and heavy guitar agression from Child Of The Desert, Always Begin, Only The Sun. Energy start slowing down in Nesting Dolls and Phantom. The curtain is closing slowly with Descensus dragging your ears with  5 freaking minutes repetitive bass line.

The band said in an interview with AP that Descensus is the album that bring out their full aggressiveness potential. Couldnt agree more. Digest descensus now if youre into some dark and heavy shit.

I am very passionate about music. I listened to new albums from various genre almost every week and every time i found great releases, my finger itches to immediately write reviews. Good albums is the manifestation of that itch. Read all of my good albums review here.